Illusion apparatus.



No. 787,589. PATENTBD APR. 18, 1905.

C.' ROSENFELD. A ILLUSION APPARATUS. APPLloATIoN FILED D Bo. e, 1904.

@mwen Iweff JW! A y @M26-@sew rss Patented April 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL ROSENFELD, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

ILLUsloN APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,589, dated April 18, 1905.

l Application filed. December 6, 1904. Serial No. 235,721.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL RosENFELD, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at 52 Behren street, Berlin, Germany, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Illusion Apparatus, Aof which the following is a full, clear, and exact speciiication.

The subject of the present invention is an apparatus for exhibition purposes which is intended to bring about the illusion of the enigmatical appearance of a person in a freestanding or isolated glass or like vessel or tank which can be seen through from all sides.

The essential feature of the invention is that at the side of the vessel turned away from the spectators accommodation, concealed from the view of the audience, is provided for the performer to recline. On exhibiting, a sheet or screen is momentarily held in front ofthe vessel, during which interval the performer has time to leave his place of concealment and step into the vessel, so that on removal of the sheet he appears to rise from the water. The necessary accommodation for the recumbent performer is afforded by the ledge presented by the table at the rear of the vessel and by a bracket or brackets forming an extension ofsuch ledge. The brackets may be hinged to the table to permit of their being flapped back, so as not to impede the movements of the exhibitor, whether before or after the brackets have been brought into use. The performer, lying on the said ledge and its extension, is concealed from the spectators View by the wooden or other base-rail of the tank or by a fillet surrounding the same.

Instead of the means above indicated or in addition thereto accommodation may be provided for the performer between the back legs of the table. In this case a decorative screen or the like must be arranged between the table-legs in exact harmony with the scenery of the stage or platform, so that to the public the impression is conveyed that the space between the auditorium and the background of the stage is unobstructed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which show one form of construction of the apparatus.

Figure 1 is a perspective section, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus.

The glass vessel I), destined to be filled with water, stands on the top of the table p, which is supported solely by its four legs, so as to stand clear of the floor and surrounding objects. At the rear side the `table is provided with `hinged brackets, one of which t can be seen in Fig. 1. The brackets are iiush with the bottom surface of the table-top, which is cut away on its upper surface at the rear of the Vessel so as to be flush also with the top of the brackets,which are comparatively thin. In this manner accommodation for the performer is presented, who when reclining on the table-ledge and brackets is concealed from the spectators view by the fillet e, which surrounds the vessel and conveys the impression of being a solid wooden base or bed upon which the actual water-supporting bottom of the vessel rests.

On exhibition taking place a sheet or cur tain is held or suspended for a short interval before the vessel, so as to conceal the upper part of the vessel from the audience, during which time the reclining performer quickly rises from the brackets and steps into the vessel of water. The sheet must be held high enough to hide the persons movements; but at the bottom it need not reach below the glass vessel.

It must be understood that I do not restrict myself to the precise form of recessed table and tank shown, as the details of construction may be greatly varied without departure from the characteristics of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An illusion apparatus comprising a transparent tank, a support sustaining the same, and means at the back of the support for supporting a person outside the tank, said means being in a lower plane than the front of the support.

2. An illusion apparatus,comprising atransparent tank, and a support sustaining the same and having hinged flaps at the rear of the tank, presenting accommodation, concealed from the View of persons in front of the apparatus, for a recumbent performer, substantially as described.

3. An illusion apparatus, comprising a trans'- parent tank, a support sustaining the same and recessed at the rear of the tank, and a Hap hinged to such recessed portion, whereby accommodation, concealed from the View of persons in front of the apparatus, is presented for a recumbent performer, substantially as described.

4. Anillusion apparatus,comprisingatransparent tank, a support sustaining the same and recessed at the rear of the tank, a fillet concealing the juncture between tank and support, and a flap hinged to the recessed portion of the support, whereby accommodation, screened from the View of persons in front of the apparatus, is presented for a recumbent performer, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL ROSEN FELD.

Witnesses WOLDEHAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER. 

